Am I a bad person to think this is wrong?

Cinnamontoast

Cinnamontoast

Fais pas chier!
Joined
6 July 2010
Messages
38,704
Visit site
facebook_65829jpg-1.jpg


I don't find it cute, I find it heart rending and if one of my could no longer run or bounce round like Tigger, I think I'd be calling the vet to PTS, like I did with Jake when he couldn't walk.

Is it ethically right to do this to a dog?
 
No, not my cup of tea either. Saw a dog with prosthetic front legs on FB this morning which also made my jaw drop.

Each to their own, not condemning anyone else but once my dogs lose mobility/the capability to move comfortably they are PTS, that's just what happens in our house and with our dogs.
 
I saw that photo on facebook, and I didnt like it either, so no I dont think you are a bad person. Or I am too. Whatever.
 
One of our dogs has very bad back legs - he can still run around, but has difficulty going up steps and will occasionally trip over. The longstanding joke in our family is that we will get him a pushchair, however when it comes to the point he is really struggling hard and no longer runs to the kitchen for a biscuit we have said we will PTS.
 
I think it is wrong. I think any animal ''having'' to wear any form of prosthetics is wrong. It isn't natural and IMHO they never look happy nor comfortable.
 
I wouldn't even lose one leg off my dog, although I have seen one legged dogs and they seem to cope. If Loppity Long Dog needed an amputation I would PTS.
 
I think its horrible. Agood few years ago one of my Heelers made contact with a beach ball just as someone kicked it. The results were damaged vertebrae(sp) and she had to have an op, it took about 3months for her to be mobile. On one of our many vet visits we were discussing the real possibility she would never be able to use her hind legs again and the vet said you can get one of those trollies they pull along so its not the end of the world. I said I hate them and couldnt put my dog through that and he said that is your perception dogs do very well in them. I did think long and hard about it but luckily my dog improve and didnt need it but I think I would rather pts than put my dog through this.
 
I know a tripod harlequin Great Dane who, while it looks awfully awkward for her sometimes, is kept lean and seems to live a good life but I wouldn't keep her like that personally.

It's not just the cute snapshot of a dog on wheels, it's what happens when the dog needs or wants to lie down, needs to pass motions (you know yourself, they use quite a lot of leverage to squeeze them out sometimes!) etc etc etc - you'd need to be with the dog 24/7 to make sure it wasn't soiling itself or getting incredibly fatigued from not being able to lie down.
 
If my dogs went down to 3 legs and could cope I'd keep them going. If it got to two legs or they couldn't cope with just 3, it'd be straight PTS.
I'm the type of person that if I ran something over and it was dying, then I'd run it over again. A few people have gasped at me doing this, but it's called compassion. Dogs aren't ours to make them suffer.
 
I think that picture is very sad. "Wheelchairs" are quite commonly used for GSDs with CDRM but it is something I would never do. Whilst the dogs seem okay whilst in their wheels the rest of the time they are unable to get about . It is not a natural life imho, I would (and have) always pts if a dog was not able to get about under their own steam.
 
I must be a bad person as well as i absolutely hate this....its done for the owners sake and that poor dog doesnt look happy to me. theres alot worse things than pts if quality of life isnt good IMO...
 
i met some1 with 2 greyhounds,one of them had lost a front leg and i didnt notice it at 1st.the greyhound manages very well and is happy.

the above picture i do not like,it just seems to have gone too far.a dog needs to be a dog.
 
Mmmm, dunno what I feel about it TBH; my gut feeling is that if it was my dog I'd PTS, but having said that the dog in the picture doesn't actually KNOW that its not got any front legs does it, not in the same way a human would do.

But I still have to come down on the side of those here who feel uncomfortable with it - just gut feeling really. I can't be convinced its the right thing to do.
 
I don't think I could decide either way for all dogs and in theory. It would have to by my dog and I would have to see how they coped. When we thought Dizzy might need his front leg amputating (to save his life from a luckily mistaken diagnosis of bone cancer) I found a lot of information on 3 legged dogs and a lot of large breeds coping perfectly well and being very active - all of which was a huge surprise to me. It may be that some dogs, especially smaller breeds that can be easily carried, re-positioned, etc. cope really well with the prosthetics, I wouldn't assume that it is a welfare issue unless it was one in the specific case.
 
Not a bad person IMO.

Personally I do not agree with amputating two legs. If the dog cannot compensate itself then I dont think its fair to stick them in prosthetics that have the potential to chaff and cause sores as well as completely altering the way they move. As cave canem said how does he lie down?how does he squat to toilet? what happens if its uneven ground or he falls over? not my idea of good quality of life :(

However that said I think a single amputation is a whole different kettle of fish!
I am always astounded at how well Tripod dogs cope. Every amputee I have seen has been up and standing the day after.Bouncing in some cases! A few took a little while to learn to rebalance themselves for getting out of beds and jumping into cars as they did not seem to realise they were now missing a limb and had to get used to a new balance but quality of life was not an issue in any of the dogs I have seen-
-we had one dog in for neutering, he had been hit by a train lost a hindlimb and half his tail 9 months before...his owner requested neutering as he was still a livewire and she was hoping it would calm him down :)
-My neighbours dog is a livewire of a springer who its hard to tell is a tripod as he never stays still for long! Most people have to have his missing hind leg pointed out to them.

That said all the dogs we have done the operation have been suitable candidates. Relatively young, not arthritic or overweight...and none of them have been giant breeds. The giants and very overweight dogs will struggle more with balance and change in loading to the legs and weight they carry are more likely to face issues in the future.
That said they could get several years of what I would unrestricted good quality of life from having a limb removed...
In a young healthy lean Great dane facing PTS or try an amputation and see how they cope I would be hard pushed to put them down.

This is a great link about amputation and showing some tripod dogs proving they can cope just fine
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=2544
 
Last edited:
I don't agree either. You can't ask a dog how it feels about it, or explain why like with a person, so the risk of the dog being unhappy are too great for me. Single amputations are different, at least in my experience of smaller dogs on 3 legs. All seem to run, play, jump etc same as before, to the point the lack of a leg isn't noticeable at first.
 
Someone said something about this being a 'common' chihuahua birth defect :( and that this looks congenital: if you look closely, I think the front legs are present but very foreshortened :(

I think the breeder ought to have PTS if that's the case.
 
cinnamontoast said:
Someone said something about this being a 'common' chihuahua birth defect :( and that this looks congenital: if you look closely, I think the front legs are present but very foreshortened :(

I think the breeder ought to have PTS if that's the case.
Click to expand...

Hard to know you can also amputate and leave the shoulder and some of the humerus behind, doesn't look great but it does provide more protection to the ribcage. That said I would really hope that isnt what happened. at least for the dog being born with the defect would be better than waking up from an operation and trying to adapt and walk as normal on its stumps :(

I do remember reading about Chi pups being born with no forelimbs and an owner saying how terrible it was that the vet wanted to put them to sleep. Il go hunt for it...

Is that a chi though?very long nose it lookd more whippety to me? an xchi maybe..
 
Expanded the pic (joy of an iPad!) and it looks like foreshortened limbs folded back on themselves.

Amazing vid: those pups bounce round! Reminds me of the Dufflepuds in the Voyage of the Dawn Treader. :o

I'd agree, IG or whippet x chi.
 
Last edited:
I don't agree and it does no sit comfortabl with me or older dogs who have lost use of hind legs wsticking wheels on them (wrong) imo. I would amputate a healthy dogs front leg from a small to medium breed but not a large/giant breed again dont agree with ha kind of pressue being placed on he healthy limp, hind leg amputation is much better and have see up to large lean breeds cope fine with that with little to no impact on their ability:)

When I was little I remember going to dog show and a shepherd having the wheels on its hind legs (hot day) owner stood chating happily, when it got up to near enough the hour and a half mark my mam actually commented and said "don't you think you should detach the wheels and allow the dog to lie down whilst you chat":confused: apparently it never entered ther mind, poor dog.
 
Last edited:
No way would I pts if my dog lost a leg and she could cope ok, my friends collie who is the liveliest ever lost a back leg and coped fine. The pic shown is a breeding defect which is a different matter.
 
If say tomorrow mine had to have ONE leg amputated it would never cross my mind. However if it was two legs or if he was a lot older then I'd want him to be PTS.
 
I had a tripod dog a few years ago - one of her hind legs got a very nasty and localised bacterial infection, and the vet fought for several days to try and save the leg as - to be entirely honest - I was uncomfortable with the idea of a tripod. The poor dog was refusing to eat, very unwell, lethargic and very very unhappy while in vet hospital.

As soon as they took the leg off, she changed immediately - she started to eat, she was brighter and bouncier, and she came home the next day :) :)

So I would always consider a tripod without hesitation in the future - but the picture shown is very very wrong in my opinion. People seem to increasingly want to think about themselves instead of the health and welfare of their animals, and as science has advanced they will keep their animals alive at all costs because the owners \"cannot bear to lose them\". Frequently this does not give the animal the quality of life that I insist on for any of my dogs/horses :(
 
Picklenash said:
So I would always consider a tripod without hesitation in the future - but the picture shown is very very wrong in my opinion. People seem to increasingly want to think about themselves instead of the health and welfare of their animals, and as science has advanced they will keep their animals alive at all costs because the owners \"cannot bear to lose them\". Frequently this does not give the animal the quality of life that I insist on for any of my dogs/horses :(
Click to expand...

Totally agree with this.
Too often it is the owners wishes over the animal's wellbeing. (& there is often more than a bit of aren't I wonderful look what I've done for my dog" involved)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top